Mining apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. E. RoBxNsoN MINING APPARATUS Filed Feb, 4. 192e'March 13, 19.28.V

' March 13, 1928. 1,662,719

Y E. B. ROEMSCJNv i MINING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 4.' 192e 2 Sheets-sheet2 /i AZ l02% ey.

Patented Mar. 13, 1928.

UNITEDJ STATES nwhnn'BUCKMAs'ina RBNsoN, or ,BREN'rWoon ENGLAND,4Assreivoia ro SETTS.

MACHINERY COMPANY, oF CHICAGO," iLLrNo's, A CORPORATION ,sULiJIvAN orMASSACHU- M'INING APPARATUS.

" Application med February 4, 192e, serial Nd. 85,913, and ni. GreatBritain oetober 13, 19.25'.

yThis invention relates to mining apparatus and comprises improvementshmwheeled trucks or trolleys for mining machines,

`In 1 the ,specificatoi'r` of the co-pendingy United States applicationSerial No, 723,953,

filed July 3rd, 1924, inthe name `of1Morris P. .Holmes, there isdescribed 4,a truck Aon-v which a miningmachine of[the.swin ging jib'type can be loaded and supported either on its top or bottom softhat itcan be used for over-cutting yor under-cutting and while in eithervpesition' the A machine `can eii'ect truck 'propulsion through themedium of a clutchwhichserves to connect the feed-chain sprocketWith-the truck propulsion gear.

Thepresent invention has for its main object to provide animprovedconstructionof truck on'. which the machi'n'e ,can be loaded fting or under-cutting.-

a'nd supported von its top, bottom lor side so that it can be used forover-cutting, undercutting -or shearing without materiallyincreasingtheioverall height of the' mounted machine when in itsshearing position, while at'the same' time enabling` the machinetoeffect trck'propulsion when in any of its positionsl on the truck. .4 y,

According to this invention, therefore, there is provided in a miningmachine truck the combination with horizontal supports'v which supportthe machine in a vworking position in which 1t lies on its bottomor toplengthwise on the truck, of another horizontal' support which is at alower level than that of the other supports' and is between them andcansupport the machine when it is` hori-4 zontal but on its side. TheAtrack platform may be providedwith a longitudinal, channel or recesstoreceive and support the ma; chineon its side so that the jib can swingin a vertical plane` for shearing,` whilethe portions of the platform on'eitherside of the channel serve toY support the machine on its top orbottom so that the jibcan swing in different horizontal planes forover-cut- Preferably the truck is provided with propeiling gear whichAis so arranged as to bedi rectly engageable With a driving member onthe machine when the machine-is inany one of its aforesaid positions onthe truck.` For'- a machine having a` driving member situated on itscentral longitudinal axis, as in the aforesaid prior applicationthechannel or recess may be of such a depth that the rotational axis ofythe said vdriving member 5;

will be inline with the rotational axis cfa driven member on the truckwhen the ma; chine is on its side in the channel for a purpose vwhichwillbe described. Other.Lfeaturesof the invention will be hereinafterdescribed and pointed out in the` claiming clauses. o Referring now toVthe accompanying drawingswhichshow a truck fora coa-1 'cutting machineof the swinging' jib chain 6 cutter typei ,F igure v1 is a sideelevation of the truclg' partly `in section, and showing in chain dottedlines, the-machine in shearing position thereont c .v 4Figure 2 vis aplan of the truck with the machine` removed forclearness, j

,Figure 3 is a sectional end yelevation on the hinein-III of Figure 1.

Eigure e is The truck comprises 5a guiding frame or platform lmounted ontrack wheels 2 secured toaxles 8 journalled in the usual manner inarzleboxese, and Ais adapted to run 'on therails. The platform 1 is providedwith a central longitudinal y channel or Arecess 6 the bott'om7 of whichprovides a supporter platform at a lower level than the platform 1 tosupport the machine 8 on itsside,` Obviouslyths 4platform be. builtupaOfA a skeleton framework with suitable-.guides on, supports to takethe machine instead of the solid walled construction shown. The chan?nel is of a suitable width to take the machine on ,its side, and in theconstruction oftruckA illustrated, which isintended for a mini ngmachine having a feed-,Operating-member k9 situated on the centrallongitudinal Aaxis of; the machine (for example, a machine of the typedescribed in'British Patent No, 211,473) the,` channel is ofsuch faydepththat the said airis liesnin the same horizontal plane when.;themachine is on its side as when omits topf or bottom 'as clearlyillust-rated in Figure This is for a purpose hereinafter more fullydescribed.

In order that the machine may be firmly secured to the truck so thatcutting may be effected while the machine is in position thereon,suitable clamping devices may be provided. As shown, for clamping themachine in its shearing position a pair of yoke clamps 1() are providedwhich are adapted to embrace the machine. These clamps are each providedwith a clamping screw 11 adapted to be manipulated by means of a tommybar, and are each pivotally secured at 12 within the channel 6 so thatthey may be folded down to lie 'below the level of the platform 1 whenit is required to load the machine thereon. The clamping screws 13 areadapted to engage recesses 14, (shown in Figure 4) which are provided ina Inachine of the type hereinbefore referred to, for accommodating thesecuring bolts holding the sections of the machine together.

In order that the machine may be loaded to and Vunloaded from either theupper or lower platforms a detachable slide 15 is provided. This slidemay be centrally dished as shown at 16 to provide a guide way for themachine when on its side. Hinge ugs 17 and 1S are provided on the upperand lower platforms respectively of the truck so that the slide can bepivotally secured to cooperate with either platform as desired. Theslidemay have a rearwardly extending tongue 19 whereby it is raised whenthe machine is loaded and which serves to steady the lowering of themachine during unloading. This tongue is conveniently situated withinthe channel 6 as shown. It will be understood that the machine may haulitself up the incline and on to either platform as desired by means ofits feed chain.

The truck propulsion gear may be similar to that described in the saidprior application Serial No. 723.953, and comprises a horizontal shaft20 having a clutch part 21 thereon forcooperation withanother coactingclutch part 22 on the feed operating member 9 on the machine. `The shaft2() is connected by suitable gearing, preferably including reverse bevelgearing which may be situated in the casing 23', to the transverse shaft24 which is geared to the shaft 25 carrying a sprocket wheel 26 which iscoupled by means of the driving chain 27 to a sprocket 28 on the aXle 3of the rear pairof track wheels 2. The drive may be transmitted also tothe axle of the front pair of wheels by means of sprockets 29, 30 andthe connecting chain 31. VA brake 32 is shown on the transverse shaft24.

Referring now to Figures 5, 6 and 7 which show a modified form of clutchaccording to this invention, it will be seen that the clutch part 21 onthe shaft 20 is slidably mounted on the splined end 33 of the said`opposite the i clutch part 21 will be forced back against shaft and aspring 34 between the casing 23 and the said clutch part tends tomaintain the latter in the position shown. The face of this clutch partis provided with four recesses 35 and a conical guide hole 36 terminatesin a central hole 37 to receive a guide pin 38 (Figure 6) carried on themachine and projecting from the end of the driving shaft 39 on which ismounted `the feed-operating sprocket 9 and `the second clutch part 22mounted thereon. 'The face of this second clutch part is provided withfour projections 40 which are adapted to engage the aforesaidrecesses 35on the other clutchpart 21. It will be seen that when the machine ismoved endwise during loading on the truck to engage the truck propulsiongear, the guide pin 38 will engage the parts 36 and 37 and bring theshafts 20 and 39 into line.`

corresponding recesses 35 the the action of the spring 34, and thus whenthe shaft 39, and with it the clutch part 22?, is rotated bythe machinemotor, as soon as the clutch projections and recesses `come opposite oneanother the clutch part 21 will be forced out by the spring intooperative engagement with the part 22. The part 21 being spring mountedas described also acts Y as a buffer for the machine. i

The rotational aXis of the feed operating member 9 being arranged asherein described in the central horizontal and also in the centralvertical plane of the machine and the channel in the truck beingarrangedras described, itwill be seen that after change inV position ofthe machine upon the truck to change the plane of cut of the swingingcutting jib` 427 the position of the aforesaid rotational axis remainsthe same and thus the shaft 39 on the machine can be coaxial with theshaft 2O onthe truck in whichever posi-V tion the machine may be on thetruck so that the clutch parts 21 and 22 can cooperate to effect truckpropulsion and can be engaged with and disengaged from each other byendwise movement of the machine relative tothe truck. Although it ispreferred to` arrange the shafts to be coaxial it willbe understood thatthis is not an essentialfeature of a direct driving connection effectedVby endwise movement of the machine, for this may be effected by means ofa sliding gear connection with the shafts out of line.

Figure 4 illustrates a truck in which the machine supporting platform isarranged to be. raised and lowered by means of jacks 43 as in theaforesaid prior application; pivoted radius rods 44 being provided oneach side of the platform to guide it and to enable the drive to betransmitted from the shaft 2,0 to the track wheels by means of suitablechain gear 45.

While I have in'this application specifilit) Cil

cally "described two forms which vmy invention ous other forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims. I claim:v

l. In a mining machine truck the combi-' nation with horizontalsupports'which support the machine-in a Working position in whichit lieson its bottom or top lengthwise on the truck, of `anotherhorizontalsupport which-isV at a lower level than thatfof'the i othersupports andvis Vbetween them `and can support the machine-when it is horizontal buton its side. 1

2. A truck comprising thecombination ac-V cording to'claim -1 andprovided with propelling gear which isso arranged as to be directlyengageablewith a driving member on the machine when lthe said machineisin any of its aforesaid positionsvon thetrucli.' Thecombinationwiththe lsubject mat? f ter of-claim 1 of clamping devices suchA as 10arrangedto embrace the machine when in position onits side on the 'truckand tor be folded down into the channel when it is required to use thetruck to support thereon thel machine laid onits ownftop or bottom.

4. The-combination with the Subjeetlmatter of claim 1 of clamping screws(13) so situated and arranged as to engage lexisting recesses (such as14 providedV for another purpose) in the sides ofthe machine whenthesaid machine is on its top or bottom on the truck. y

5. The combination with the subject-matter of claim 1 of adetachableloadingand unloading slide and means on the-truck (for examplethe parts 17 vand 18) so situated in 'relation to the supports thatareat different levels therein as to enable the said slide to beoperatively connected'at will either withV the support at the higher orwith that at the lower level so that the machine can be loaded to andunloaded from either level.

6. The combination according to claim 1 adjustable relatively to thetrack wheels, (for example by means of the acks 43) into differenthorizontal planes.

7. For a mining machine vhaving a plurality of surfaces on which it isadapted to be selectively supported and a swinging cutting member, awheeled truck having a platform provided with a longitudinal channelarranged to receive and support the machine on its side supportingsurface so that the cutting membery can swing in a vertical plane forshearing, while portions of the platform on either side of the channelserve to support the machine on its top or bottom supportingV surface sothat the cutting member can swing in different horizontal planes forovereutting or undercutting.

8. A-miningy machine truckaccordin to clainr whereinthe-channelisf'of`suc a` depth that a driving member. situated onthecentral longitudinal axis of themachine' will be coaxial with adriven memberonl the truck whenthe machine isi on itsside in thechannel, for the purpose described'.

9. In a mining apparatus, a truck proa viding'means for f supportingva'mining machine in working positions with either its top or its-bottomsurface horizontal, and also providing "distinctlmeansrat a differentlevely than said iirst mentioned supporting means for supporting ltheymachine when' it is horizontal but on its side. f y

10. In amining apparatus, a1truck "providy ing means for-supporting aminingA machine in working positions with either its` toplon its -bottomsurface horizontal, and ,alsoprv vidingy distinct means at a differentylevell than said first mentioned supporting means for supporting themachine when it ishorizontal but on its side, and truck propelling `vgear for said truck including an element IVar-v ranged to be directlyengageablefby akk driv ing member-on a mining machine when the machineis supported in any of thevv positionsaforesaid on the truck. v

11. In a mining apparatus, in combination, a truck providing means forsupport-Vl ing a mining machinein working{pos'itions` with either itstop or bottomsurface horizontal and also providing ldistinct@meansi at adifferent level than said first ymentioned supporting meansf-forsupportingv the ma'- chine ywhen it is horizontal but on its side,

said truck having propelling gear includ-ing a drivingV element soarranged as tobe 'di` rectly engageable by a driving-memberl on a miningmachine when the machine is' supported in any ofthe 'positionsvaforesaidon the truck, and a mining machine supportable 1 onsaid truckand having a power-rotatable? clutch element adaptedlA to'cooperate-With'` said driving element and rotatable on the centrallongitudinal axis of the machine, the

saidV axis of said machine lying in the same horizontal plane in eitherworking position thereof.

12. In a mining apparatus, in combination, a vtruck providing means forsupporting a mining machine in working positions with eitherits top orbottom surface horizontal and also providing distinct means at adifferent level than said iirst mentioned supporting means forsupporting the machine when it is horizontal but on its side,

auf

said truck having Apropelling gear including lil gear including adriving element so arranged as to be directly engageable by a drivingmember on a mining machine When y `the machine is supported in any ofthe positions aforesaid on the truck, and a mining machine supportableon said truck and having a power rotatable clutch element adapted tocooperate With said driving `element and rotatable Von the centrallongitudinal axis of the machine, said clutch element and drivingelement having cooperating locating devices arranged to locate thedriving `and driven elements in mutually coaxial relation and one ofsaidelements having a part slidable inan axial direction and springpressed to- Ward one position thereof. i

14. In a mining apparatus, a truck providing means for supporting amining machine in a Working position with a surface thereofsubstantially horizontal, and also providing a distinct support at adifferent level than said first mentioned supporting means forsupporting the machine in a different Working position with the surfaceaforesaid substantially vertical.

15. In a mining apparatus, a truck providing means for supporting amining machine in a Working position with a surface thereofsubstantially horizontal, and also provid- ,top orvits bottom surfaceshorizontal, and

also Aproviding distinct means at a different level than said firstmentioned supporting means for supporting the machine when it ishorizontal but on its side, the longitudinal axis of said machine lyingin the same horizontal plane in either Working position thereof. v ,4

17. In al mining apparatus, a truck providing means for supporting amining machine in a Working position with a surface thereofsubstantially horizontal, and also providing a distinct support at adifferent level than said first mentioned supporting means forsupporting the machine in a different Working position with lthe surfaceaforesaid substantially vertical, `the longitudinal axis of said machinelyin `in the same horizontal plane in either wor ing position thereof. i

18. In a mining apparatus, a truck pro-` viding means for supporting amining machine in a Working position with a surface thereofsubstantially horizontal, .and also providing a.Y distinct support at adifferent level than said rst mentioned supporting means for supportingthe machinein a different ivorking position with the surface aforesaidmaking a substantial angle With its Voriginal position, the longitudinalaxis of said machine lying in the same horizontal plane in eitherWorking osition thereof.

In testimony whereof I a X my signature.

l-:Dwmui` nucxmasnan Rosinsou.

